


So Much Snow

by heartsdesire456



Series: 25 Days of Fandom [2]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Neighbors, Christmas, First Meetings, Fluff, M/M, Meet-Cute, No SHIELD, Snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2014-12-04
Packaged: 2018-02-28 04:51:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2719364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartsdesire456/pseuds/heartsdesire456
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fitz hates snow, he hates shoveling snow, and he hates that his Hot Neighbor is shoveling snow and making it look super easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So Much Snow

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is not related to any other fics in the series.
> 
> Enjoy!

“Bloody- Ung – fucking- fucking _snow_ ,” Fitz panted, heaving as he tossed a shovel of snow over his shoulder. He looked at his driveway and groaned. Across the street, he could see the neighbor – his gorgeous neighbor if he was honest, the one he spent all summer drooling over when he’d mow the lawn topless – shoveling his driveway without any trouble.

Unlike the neighbor, Fitz wasn’t very large and muscular, though. He took a moment to lean on his shovel and just _watch_ his neighbor shoveling snow with ease. It was ridiculous, really, Fitz thought. He struggled just to heave a shovel full of snow and his neighbor was doing it at a pace that seemed as if it was a toy sand shovel at the beach. He was going to be done with his whole driveway in a matter of minutes and Fitz would be lucky if he finished before the next storm dropped six more inches of stupid snow and ruined his hard work. 

Fitz looked at his shovel and harrumphed as he picked it up and prepared to go for another scoop. He really, _really_ hated snow. “White Christmas my arse,” he grumbled, jamming the shovel back into the snow. When he heaved, however, the snow didn’t move. The shovel refused to budge. Fitz actually growled as he put his back into it and heaved with all his might. The shovel full of snow came up this time, but just as Fitz shifted a step to raise the shovel, the foot he put down shot out from under him, and in a split second the pull against the heavy snow shovel propelled him to the ground faster than gravity alone would, and he landed flat on his back with a heavy ‘thud’.

It hurt.

It hurt a lot. Fitz whimpered some, taking a few sharp breaths to try and clear the ache in his chest from the wind being knocked out of him. He stared up at the sky as he realized he could hear someone laughing. 

And realized it was his sexy neighbor.

The sexy neighbor that had clearly just seen him fall right on his arse in the middle of the driveway. Fitz closed his eyes and whined softly. “This cannot possibly get worse,” he mumbled to himself. He looked up at the sky and the clouds that threatened more snow, deciding that it might be a better idea to just lay there until the snow buried him rather than face the humiliation of getting up and looking across the street and facing the gorgeous, mountain of a man that had just watched him make a fool of himself.

However, after just a few moments of lying without moving, contemplating finally getting up and whether it would make things hurt more, he realized the laughter had stopped just as he heard footsteps crunching in the snow coming his way. “Hey? Hey are you alright?” Fitz lifted his head some, looking down the driveway, only to see his neighbor rushing over. The neighbor stopped beside Fitz, tilting his head. “Hey, you’re alive right? Please tell me I didn’t laugh and you actually hurt yourself,” he said in a deep, absolutely _sexy_ voice that Fitz could only have dreamed of him having.

Fitz sighed, letting his head flop back, only to wince when it hurt. “I’m alive. Pretty sure my pride is hurt worse than my body,” he admitted reluctantly.

His neighbor chuckled, leaning over some to look at Fitz’s face. “Well as long as I’m not actually a horrible person and laughed at someone’s death-fall, we’re good.” He held out his hand. “Hi, I’m Mack- well, Alphonso. Mackenzie,” he said stiltedly, cringing as he spoke. “But everybody calls me Mack.”

Fitz reached up and shook his hand. “Leopold Fitz, however, we have something in common. Everybody calls me Fitz,” he said, and Hot Neighbor- Mack smiled at him.

“Nice to meet you, Fitz,” Mack said, then without warning he tugged on Fitz’s hand, pulling him up to his feet in one swift movement that Fitz _did not_ anticipate. He yelped somewhat and stumbled into Mack’s chest, hands gripping at Mack’s coat to keep from falling over. “Whoa, don’t fall,” Mack said, catching him by the upper arms. “You good?” he asked, and Fitz nodded with a shy smile, stabilizing himself.

“Sorry. Caught me off guard,” he said, stepping back some, only to step on the same ice and nearly fall again. “WAAHH!” he cried, only to be caught again by big, strong hands. Fitz let out an angry growl, kicking his shovel when he got his balance back. “Bloody SNOW!” he cried in frustration, only to flush, cheeks burning when he looked at the surprised expression on Mack’s face. “Erm. Sorry.”

Mack shook his head. “No, not-“ He reached out and caught Fitz’s wrist, confusing him for a moment before he guided Fitz’s hand up to his head. Fitz felt the back of his head, only to hiss when it _hurt_. Fitz pulled his hand away and realized something wet on his glove wasn’t melted snow. “Oh. Shit that’s blood.”

Mack slid an arm around his shoulders. “Come on, let’s get you inside,” he said, and Fitz stared at his hand in a daze as he let Mack lead him up the steps to his own house. Fitz vaguely told directions to the kitchen and found himself being sat in a chair at is table while Mack went and grabbed one of his black dish cloths he’d left on the counter to put away after folding them and wet it before bringing it back. 

“Thanks,” Fitz said, pressing the towel to the back of his head. It smarted, but the lump didn’t feel too bad. He dabbed at it with a hiss, before finally pulling the towel away and putting it down long enough to get off his gloves and strip out of his jacket. 

“Here, lemme help you,” Mack’s voice said from behind him, and he let Mack pull his jacket off and lay it on the table. Fitz stilled when a hand landed on the side of his head and Mack tilted his head to look at the area that was bleeding. “Doesn’t seem like a big gash or anything. Just a little scratch. Head wounds just bleed a lot.”

“Yeah,” Fitz said, rolling his shoulders. “It hurts, but I’m not dizzy or anything.”

Mack moved around in front of him and held up two fingers. “How many fingers?” he asked with a teasing tone.

Fitz rolled his eyes. “That’s far from scientific,” he said and Mack smiled, momentarily stealing Fitz’s breath. 

“Sense of humor still intact at least,” Mack said, looking at him. He nodded, seeming to come to a conclusion. “Right. You sit here and warm up, keep checking on that cut, and I’ll go finish your driveway,” he said and Fitz gaped.

“What?! No!” He stood up. “I couldn’t possibly let you shovel my driveway, that’s ridiculous, you helped me more than enough already, I can’t ask you to do that. I can shovel it later, it’s no problem, it’s just some snow, I mean come on, it’s just not right of me to let you-“

Mack laughed and held up his hands. “Slow it down there, Turbo,” he joked, smiling as Fitz stopped talking. “Seriously. You were having trouble before you suffered a head injury,” he said, patting Fitz on the shoulder. “I can do it in fifteen minutes, tops. You just stay here, keep a watch on your head, and I’ll come back in and make sure you’re still conscious when I’m done.”

Fitz opened his mouth to argue, but Mack didn’t seem interested, as he just turned and walked back out, leaving Fitz standing there, mouth agape.

~

When Mack returned, Fitz had changed out of his wet clothes and was waiting with hot chocolate. Mack looked presently surprised, but Fitz did know how to show his gratitude. “Thank you. For coming to check on me earlier,” Fitz opened with. He offered Mack a mug of hot chocolate, smiling shyly as he slid it across the counter to Mack’s side. “Erm, it was very kind of you.”

Mack grinned, unzipping his coat. “Hey, I laughed at you when you fell and then when you didn’t move, I was pretty sure I’d just bought a one-way ticket to Hell by laughing at someone’s death-fall.”

Fitz glared out the window at the snow. “I’d probably welcome a trip to anywhere warmer right now, Hell included.”

Mack chuckled. “Really? By the accent, I’d assume you’re used to cold weather.”

Fitz scoffed. “It’s rainy and windy cold in Scotland, not this stupid- stupid _ice_ ,” he groaned. “So much snow and it gets on everything and then it knocks tree limbs into my back yard and you can’t get around without people sliding into your bloody car in the carpark!” He stopped and flushed as he looked up at Mack, only to have his flush grow when he saw the sight before him.

Mack had taken off his coat and hat and gloves, and with only a flannel shirt on, one with the sleeves rolled up, Fitz could see just how big his arms were, and how broad his chest was without any layers to soften him. Fitz finished oogling him from the feet up only to panic slightly and duck his head in a rush he met a pair of amused eyes. Mack chuckled lower in his throat and Fitz wanted to turn and stick his bright red face in the freezer, he felt so embarrassed. “So snow isn’t your thing, huh?” Mack asked, and Fitz finally glanced up to see Mack picking up the mug and taking a sip.

Fitz smiled some when Mack made a pleasantly surprised noise and drank again. “Nah, snow isn’t really my sort of thing.”

Mack tilted his head. “But who doesn’t want a white Christmas?” he asked. He looked back at the living room. “You don’t even have a Christmas tree.” He paused. “Unless you’re Jewish or something,” he said, turning back. “I shouldn’t just assume-“

“It’s not that,” Fitz said with a small shrug. “I just don’t really do holidays. My mum invites me home every year, but I just haven’t the time.”

Mack nodded. “What do you do? If you don’t have time?” he asked.

“I’m an engineer at Stark Labs,” Fitz explained. “I can’t really take vacations if I plan to come back to find my lab still in one piece.”

Mack looked impress. “Wow. Pretty sure I’ve never met anybody with an engineering degree before. That’s pretty cool.”

Fitz shrugged, ducking his eyes bashfully. “I’ve, erm, actually got a few. Two doctorates and a master’s degree. ScD in Mechanical Engineering, PhD in Electrical Engineering, and an MS in Technology.”

Mack gaped at him for a moment. “But… _how_?” he asked, looking him over. “You’re so young!”

Fitz grinned shyly. “I- I’m sort of a genius?” he said with a small chuckle. “I graduated high school at thirteen. At twenty, I had all of those and got a job at Stark Labs in California. I got transferred here this year.”

Mack whistled. “All that and you can’t figure out a better way to shovel your driveway?” he asked and Fitz glared.

“I’m a busy man, you know!” He sighed looking out the window. “Bloody _snow_.” He looked at Mack, shaking his head. “How do you deal with it? It’s horrible.”

Mack shrugged. “I’m from Chicago originally. This isn’t as bad as I’ve seen by far.” He smiled as he looked out the window. “It’s pretty though. It’s gonna be a white Christmas. Haven’t had one of those around here in a few years.”

“Overrated, if you ask me,” Fitz said, and Mack shook his head in amusement. “So a few years, that mean you’ve lived here long?” he asked.

Mack nodded. “Yeah, my sister and her family moved out here. After our parents died, just made more sense to come be close to my family, you know?”

Fitz hummed, sipping his hot chocolate. “So, no wife and kids of your own then? Or did they just not mind the move?”

Mack gave him an amused look and Fitz immediately questioned whether his ‘subtle’ was all that subtle. “No, no wife and kids for me.” He gave a sly little smirk as he raised his cup again. “No husband either,” he added and Fitz couldn’t help grinning down at his cup. “Assuming there’s no Mrs. Fitz here either?” Mack asked.

“No, no Mrs. Fitz,” Fitz said, then glanced up through his eyelashes. “Definitely no second Mr. Fitz either.”

“Well, maybe next year you’ll have somebody to share Christmas with,” Mack said with a smile. He put his mug down and looked at the window. “I should really get going. Need to do the walkway to the back door before my sister and her family gets here, you know, Christmas Eve dinner,” Mack said, going to pick up his coat and put it on.

Fitz jerked some. “Really, you have to let me pay you for shoveling my driveway,” he said, going to the dish where his keys and wallet were by the back door. “It’s just too much-“

“Hey, no,” Mack said, holding up his hands. “Seriously. It’s not a big deal. It’s just a little snow-“

“Mack,” Fitz chastised, putting his hands on his hips as he faced him again. “You have to let me pay you, I did like four shovels, and you did all the rest!

Mack grinned at the look on Fitz’s face and walked closer as he pulled his gloves on. “Tell you what. You can take me out to dinner as a thank you,” he suggested with a warm smile. Fitz stared at him in surprise, blinking awkwardly for a moment. He was pretty sure he’d just hallucinated his hot neighbor hinting at _a date_. With _Fitz_. Mack’s smile slid some and he gave Fitz a little worried look. “Um, I mean, unless I read this way wrong-“

“NO! NOT AT ALL! YES!” Fitz’s brain came back on line just in time for him to splutter and practically shout at Mack. He flushed, biting his lip. “I mean, yes. Dinner. That’s- That’s- yeah. Good,” he finished lamely, nodding awkwardly.

Mack’s smile came back. “Good?”

Fitz chuckled bashfully. “Definitely would like to take you out to dinner.” He cleared his throat. “Could I, erm, maybe get your number? So I can call you?” he asked and Mack gave him a warm smile.

“Sure. Calling me’s a lot smarter than giving yourself a concussion to get my attention,” he joked and Fitz huffed, rolling his eyes.

Fitz grabbed his phone and handed it to Mack with a playful glare. “Don’t push it, or I’ll make you pay for our date,” he joked.

Mack gave him a gorgeous smile. “Nah, I’ll cover the second date,” he said and Fitz couldn’t fight the warmth he felt at the implication that Mack already expected there would be a second date after the first.

Fitz smiled bashfully, unable to tear his gaze from Mack’s. “Sounds good to me.”


End file.
